Migration and the environment are top issues for EU youth: survey

BERLIN — Young Europeans in most EU countries rank migration, the environment and the economy as the bloc's "key political problems," and see this month's European Parliament election as less important than national votes — but they remain generally supportive of the EU, according to a survey released Friday.

The online YouGov study for the Germany-based TUI Foundation found that "asylum and migration" were the most important issues for Europeans aged 16 to 26, but, the authors noted, this doesn't mean that respondents reject open borders, as 43 percent of those highlighting these issues say the EU's open borders are an "opportunity," versus 27 percent who see them as "a threat."

A majority of young people in the EU (55 percent) see climate protection and environmental policy as an opportunity rather than a threat for their own personal lives. Forty-three percent of those surveyed said they had engaged in political action over environmental protection in the past year. “We see a generation that no longer regards climate and environmental protection as a necessary evil, but as a natural component of the political agenda,” said TUI Foundation Managing Director Elke Hlawatschek.

The survey found young Europeans tend to see this month's European Parliament election as a "second-order" ballot, with a median of 50 percent considering the Europe-wide election as "important," and 73 percent saying they see their national elections as "important." However, 38 percent of respondents said they want "more" Europe and hope EU countries would grow closer together, though only 23 percent think this will actually happen within the next five years.

“Young people clearly express their wish for European countries to move closer together. However, they do not believe this will actually happen. This generation is the natural ally of all those who believe in Europe as a political project,” said Hlawatschek.

Fifty-eight percent of the young people surveyed believe that democracy is "the best form of government," with the strongest support for this in Greece (73 percent), Germany and Sweden (both on 66 percent), and Denmark (65 percent). Support for democracy was lower among respondents in France (38 percent), Italy and Poland (both 46 percent).

The TUI Foundation's third annual "Young Europe" study surveyed more than 8,000 young people in 11 EU countries — Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, the United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Spain — between January 21 and February 12.